Chapter 10: Digital Retribution

The courtroom fell into an absolute, breathless hush.

Every eye in the gallery—along with millions of viewers watching the live stream across the country—was glued to the massive seventy-inch screen hanging above Judge Miller's bench.

On the screen, four-year-old Leo had expanded the metadata logs of the leaked psychiatric reports. Bright red highlights lined the digital code, flashing line by line.

"As you can see on line forty-two of the file structure," Leo explained, his tiny voice surprisingly steady as he pointed a laser pointer at the monitor, "the P*F document was generated three weeks after my mother had already departed North City five years ago. Furthermore, the electronic signature attributed to Dr. Harrison of Capital General Hospital was created using an administrative software key registered directly to Vance Manor's primary server network."

A loud collective gasp erupted across the gallery.

Reporters scrambled to take notes, their camera shutters clicking furiously.

"Order! Order in the court!" Judge Miller slammed his gavel down, his face turning stern as he glared over his spectacles at Samuel Vance. "Counselor, how do you respond to these technical findings?"

Samuel Vance's lead attorney wiped cold sweat from his forehead, stammering as he turned to his client. "Your Honor... this... this digital evidence could easily have been tampered with by a skilled programmer! The boy is obviously using an automated script to fabricate—"

"I don't fabricate data," Leo interrupted, looking up from his tablet with a cool, sharp stare that mirrored Ethan’s exact expression. "If the court permits, I can execute a live network ping right now to verify the IP address origin."

Leo tapped three keys on his screen.

A secondary window popped up on the courtroom monitor, displaying a live trace route bouncing directly from the court server straight into the desktop computer located in Samuel Vance’s private study at the Vance Manor.

The proof was undeniable, absolute, and broadcast live to the entire nation.

Samuel Vance’s knuckles turned white as he gripped his silver cane. His lips trembled with suppressed rage, his face darkening into a deep shade of crimson. For fifty years, no one had ever dared to humiliate him publicly in a capital courtroom—let alone a four-year-old child.

"Silence!" Samuel Vance suddenly rasped, standing up with the help of his cane, his harsh voice cutting through the murmurs. He ignored his attorneys, pointing a shaking finger directly at Victoria. "Even if the medical records are disputed, she is a single woman raising two children in an unstable corporate environment! I am the head of the Vance bloodline! By ancient estate right, those children belong under the guardianship of the Vance Family Trust!"

Victoria slowly stood up from the defense table. She didn't look angry; she looked like a queen looking down at an insignificant bug.

"Ancient estate right?" Victoria repeated, her smooth voice echoing off the high stone walls. "Patriarch Vance, you seem to forget one very important detail."

She turned her gaze toward Ethan, who was standing right beside her.

Ethan stepped forward, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out a official, gold-sealed legal document. He placed it directly onto the bailiff's tray to be delivered to Judge Miller.

"Your Honor," Ethan announced, his deep voice carrying an absolute, unquestionable weight. "I have officially executed a complete waiver of paternal estate intervention. Furthermore, as the current reigning President of Vance Enterprise and head of the primary corporate branch, I hereby yield full, exclusive legal guardianship of Leo and Chloe to their mother, Victoria Sterling."

Samuel Vance gasped violently, his eyes bulging in pure horror. "Ethan! You insolent fool! Are you betraying your own blood?!"

"I am protecting my family," Ethan answered coldly, turning his back on his grandfather completely to look at Victoria. "The Vance estate has no legal standing, no moral standing, and no rights to touch my children."

Judge Miller reviewed the signed waiver, then looked down at Samuel Vance with zero sympathy.

*BANG!*

The heavy wooden gavel struck the block with a finality that sounded like a cannon shot.

"The petition for emergency bloodline custody filed by Patriarch Samuel Vance is hereby dismissed with prejudice," Judge Miller declared loudly. "Full legal guardianship remains exclusively with Miss Victoria Sterling. Furthermore, this court orders a federal investigation into the falsification of medical documents by the plaintiff's estate."

Cheering broke out among the spectators in the back of the courtroom.

Samuel Vance collapsed back into his leather chair, clutching his chest as his attorneys rushed to hand him his heart medication. His authority, his reputation, and his control over the family legacy had been shattered in less than an hour.

Victoria didn't stay to watch the old man suffer. She turned, taking Leo's hand on one side, while Ethan gently picked up Chloe on the other.

As they walked out of the courtroom doors into the bright sunlight, hundreds of reporters rushed forward, microphones outstretched.

"Miss Sterling! How do you feel about winning the trial?!"

"President Vance! Does this mean a full reconciliation between you and the Sterling Group?!"

Ethan paused on the high marble steps, looking down at Victoria. His eyes were filled with deep emotion, his voice soft yet clear enough for every microphone to catch.

"I spent five years making the biggest mistake of my life," Ethan said to the press, his gaze never leaving Victoria's face. "Today wasn't about business or corporate power. It was about standing by the only woman I have ever loved, and I will spend the rest of my life earning back her trust."

Victoria looked into his earnest, burning eyes. Her heart gave a sudden, uncontrollable thump against her ribs. She pulled her gaze away, keeping her expression cool as she stepped into the awaiting Maybach.

"You still have a long way to go, President Vance," Victoria murmured softly as he held the car door open for her.

A faint, determined smile touched Ethan's lips as he closed the door behind her. "I have all the time in the world, Chairwoman Sterling."

Inside the car, Leo's tablet screen suddenly flashed with a dark, encrypted message from an unknown sender.

Leo glanced down, his eyes narrowing as he read the text: *[The old man was just the distraction. The Sterling family in the capital knows you've returned, Victoria... and they want their missing heiress back.]*